Reader’s Question: I made ginger beer[1] but there was a milky paste at the bottom of the jar. Whatcha know about that?

Trinigourmet’s Answer: Great question! Although it looks a little ‘spooky’ that milky paste is perfectly natural and inevitable. It’s a mixture of the solids that have settled, and the fermentation that has occurred to create the ‘beer’. Similar to the ‘mother’ that fosters vinegars, these solids (called ‘the bug’) feed the ginger beer and are why you will tend to find the flavour gets harsher the longer it sits. If you really find their appearance upsetting you can strain them out with an extra fine cheesecloth but I tend to leave it as is. I think it has ‘character’ 🙂